Thinking about an 11' Explorer Limited

[tgenius]

Hey everyone.. my wife and I are thinking about the 11' Explorer Limited.. haven't test driven yet (not quite there timewise) but I think it's pretty much between:

GMC Acadia Denali
Ford Explorer Limited (302A package)
Dodge Durango Citadel.

We haven't driven any of them, but I'm hesitant to the Acadia as the rumors are flying around its going to be discontinued (resale would tank I think?)

The 3 of them all have HID headlights too.

I'm wondering if anyone else compared them? I think all of them offer cooling seats (A must in Miami!)

With regards to the rebates/financing, I signed up for the brochure (as theres talk some get a $750 rebate in it) can that be combined with any other rebates AND financing or is it either or? I'm a lil hesitant as the financing offers Ford has at the moment aren't the best.. when would new incentives/offers take effect?

 

[justcynn]

I haven't been in the new Durango yet but my sister has the Acadia and while I like it she has had a lot of problems with hers already. Not entirely GM's fault, they had a faulty oil filter from a quick lube place and have had the entire engine rebuilt due to paper getting in it. I have driven the Explorer and for what we need, I think its a great choice. Maybe a little smaller than your other two options but I think it will be just right and add the MFT system and we are getting pretty excited!

 

[peterk9]

With regards to the rebates/financing, I signed up for the brochure (as theres talk some get a $750 rebate in it) can that be combined with any other rebates AND financing or is it either or? I'm a lil hesitant as the financing offers Ford has at the moment aren't the best.. when would new incentives/offers take effect?

Incentives seem to come and go at Ford's discretion with no advance warning or indiaction that new ones will be in place. So far it seems that incentives, if introduced, are done so at the beginning of the month. Right now Ford Canada has a $1000 incentive that ends March 31st. You can always go to to the Ford.com website and check to see what incentives are currently being offered in your area.
Welcome to the Forum. :wavey: Hope you'll stick around!

 

[SWEET ST]

Definetly the explorer over durango and the arcadia. Explorer has tons of more bells and whistles. And its more stylish than both. Gas wise explorer is over the top!!! In for florida the ex would be awesome !!!

 

[alexk]

Hmm its thats a tough choice. I wouldnt worry about the Acadia (thank god you actually know theres not an R in there) resale value tanking. The outlook kept its value well and Saturn as a whole isnt even around anymore. Plus anything with that Denali name slapped on is pretty much guaranteed to hold its value, see Envoy Denali. At one time they did have timing chain troubles on those but that problem has been addressed and is no longer an issure other than that they are very reliable.

The Explorer has a lot of technology packed into it. More than most of the luxury brands out there. Its a very nice package at a price that is very nice for all that you get. The only thing that would bother me about buying one right now is that they are so new and all the bugs havent been worked out yet.

The durango is one good looking truck though. For me personally it would be a very hard choice between this and the explorer. One great thing about the durango is RWD/Hemi powered. If you plan on doing some towing this is the truck for you. It is also very different than the previous durango. Having driven one as a loaner, its a very nice truck and feels very expensive. Being its based off the Grand Cherokee that has already been out for about 6 months you can kinda get an idea of any problems it might have.

 

[troyandcarol]

We were in a similar boat and we went with the EX!! We are glad we did, couple things we don't like about the EX is the 2nd row doesn't seem as big as it should be and the MFT could be a little less buggy, but overall we love it!! We have a friend who has a loaded outlook and we like it but the bells in whistles in the EX are just so much and many more. As for the durango I liked it much more than my wife did. Mainly she said in the black interior EX she felt like she was in a 60K vehicle and the other two not so much. THe gas milage for us was a huge factor, huge! Hope that helps

 

[edge929]

I also looked at all those and the Highlander too. The Acadia was a little bigger than we needed and the Explorer had better gas mileage so that was out. I've never been a Mopar fan and never liked the looks of the old Durango's but DID like the new one. After looking at it in person, I just didn't like it AS WELL as the Explorer, mostly the interior. The Highlander was a little on the small size. Another small factor, the Highlander and Acadia are a dime a dozen in my suburb. If I don't count 12 Acadia's on my 10 minute drive to work then it probably means my alarm clock is broken

 

[barho]

I am between the Ex and the Durango myself. One thing I am doing is waiting until the new Durango R/T hits dealer lots before I make my decision. The R/T looks like a sweet package with the 5.7L Hemi, body colored moldings, sport suspension with a lowered stance, tuned exhaust and optional AWD.

 

[Finch]

Yea but they removed the 3rd row for the r/t to save weight. I need the 3 rd row option.

 

[barho]

Yea but they removed the 3rd row for the r/t to save weight. I need the 3 rd row option.

No they did not. That is the Durango Heat, not the R/T. The R/T still has the third row seat.

 

[tgenius]

I like the R/T but the fact you are forced to buy the hemi kills that option.. would have to be the Citadel with 3.6L (Which in my research, ALL citadels in Miami bring Hemis...)

 

[new to ford]

Hey everyone.. my wife and I are thinking about the 11' Explorer Limited.. haven't test driven yet (not quite there timewise) but I think it's pretty much between:

GMC Acadia Denali
Ford Explorer Limited (302A package)
Dodge Durango Citadel.

My wife and I were comparing these exact three vehicles. She was favoring the Acadia, but with a little arm twisting I convinced here that it was worth giving up the extra cargo space on the Acadia for all the other technological marvels on the '11 Explorer!

 

[JustB_Rad]

I went with Ford for the pure reason that they got out of their mess on their own...which I think was awesome. The new Durango was under consideration though.....GM....they never even contacted me after I put in inquires.

 

[peterk9]

I went with Ford for the pure reason that they got out of their mess on their own...which I think was awesome. The new Durango was under consideration though.....GM....they never even contacted me after I put in inquires.

FYI, Consumer Reports has listed the reliability of the Acadia below average for a number of years.

 

[sm4astan]

The Acadia was also at the top of my list (my wife left the car shopping up to me). The Acadia I drove had a very nice ride. I didn't get to see all the Tech it had to offer because dealer had a pretty basic model. If I hadn't gone for the X, I think the Acadia is what we would have gotten, but here is what made me decide on the X -

• I kept going back and forth on the Acadia styling. I liked it some days I looked at it, other days I didn't like the front end.
• I hated the 2nd row seats on the Acadia. I didn't like at all the way the folded forwarded and was worried about their longevity.
• I hated the tracks in the 2nd row that the seats slid forward on. They just looked cheap and I can only imagine how much stuff (from kids) would get stuck down in them. No idea how you would put a liner in 2nd row because of those tracks.
• The cost of a loaded Acadia was about the same as a loaded Explorer.
• A loaded Limited Explorer (when compared to loaded similarly priced Acadia) I felt was a much better deal. Acadia couldn't touch My Ford Touch, and I loved the tech in the X (MFT with digital readouts on dash and touch system on dash).
• The Explorer drove even better than the Acadia.
• The Explorer looks blew away the Acadia in my mind. I love the look of the X from head-on and from profile.
• Fit and finish inside Explorer seemed to me to blow Acadia away.
• Explorer is fresh, Acadia has been out a number of years.

Hope this helps. Still waiting for my X, but I still think I made the right choice.